RENT FREE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 45, 21 August 1930, Page 10

RENT FREE

FOR FIRST TWO WEEKS

HOUSES IN SYDNEY

So difficult is it to get tenants i<4 houses in certain parts of the Wester. Suburbs, that some landlords are offering their houses rent free for the first two weeks of occupancy, or a free monthly ticket to Sydney, says the "Sydney Sun." Over 240 families in Auburn, Granville, Lidcombe, Merrylands, and Guildford districts who have paid up to £100 on houses they, had been purchasing on terms, have broken their contracts, foregone their payments and have left. In addition there, are more than 1000 empty houses in these districts where, three years, ago, empty houses were unobtainable. _ The extent to which rents have dropped during the past six months is surprising. One house at Granville, which had been let for seven years at 18s a week, is now returning its <wner 7s a week. A'jothcr at Auburn, rented at 30s a week for five years, H now let at &1' Thousands of others r>4,ve dropped from 30s to 255, and cv„ t0.17<5 6d, but landlords are so desperate, that they are prepared to take almost anything rather than have their houses empty and at the mercy of vandals. "AYe cannot sell houses," said one agent to-day. "Two years ago, when, a young couple got married, they purchased a house on terms or they built ono with a Government Savings Bank loan. To-day there is no need to buy or build a house. They can get their choice of 500 houses at airy time, at » rent which makes it unprofitable Anthem either to buy or build."